There seem to be two main traits that have 49ers general manager John Lynch excited about third-round draft pick Fred Warner from BYU: smarts and length. Talking about his draft picks, Lynch said, “They could moonlight over at Google. We added some IQ to the building.”

I’m not sure how Warner’s coding skills are but it’s clear to see on film that Warner is a high IQ player.

Smarts

Warner played multiple positions at BYU. According to Pro Football Focus, in 2017, Warner played 309 of his 805 defensive snaps at off-ball linebacker and played 150 of his 805 defensive snaps standing up along the edge of the line of scrimmage (edge defender). His most frequent position (336 of his 805) was lined up as an apexed defender (over the slot). In this position, he was like a hybrid between a linebacker and strong safety.

He had strong safety coverage responsibilities but the run responsibilities of a linebacker. It was a difficult...

SALE: Free trial and 30% off

Try The Athletic free for a week to get access to this article and more smart, in-depth coverage. Read and support quality journalism with this limited-time offer.